*groan*

Ok. Saturday is officially over. And I can't sleep. There's someone in my building who has a somewhat inconsiderate affinity to playing Arabic music loudly after midnight. This usually happens around once a week, so it is tolerable, I suppose (subtle P&P innuendo there). BUT STILL.

I need to get up early(ish) tomorrow to take a shower and head off to church, but there are so many things in my head at the moment that I have to let some of 'em out.

Looking through that previous YT vid again (adorable kid!), I found out something more I'd like to have in a future bf/partner-for-life (note that I didn't write "partner-in-crime" here -- I'm not a criminal (duh)). He has to have a great laugh. I remember I'd gotten for one of my English assignments in Senior High to describe someone in my family, so I chose to describe Dad. I remember describing his laugh like a "high-pitched machine gun laugh". I'd like to have something like that as one of the top features of a future bf/partner-for-life. He has to have a contagious and memorable kind of laugh.

In other news, while the rest of mah peeps are studying for their semester finals, I've ostracized myself from that level of stress, if you get my drift. I'm not going to have any exams before spring (!), so I'm not really feeling the kind of nerves others of my acquaintance are feeling. Nonetheless, this means that the culmination of my classes will be postponed -- which can also be a bad thing. In addition, we've been given the task of writing 3 essays in the course of the next few months, so there'll probably be a lot of IB tendencies lurking about this Christmas... :-S Vacation is going to be somewhat short for me this year, I believe/fear... The first draft of one of my essays is going to be handed in January 4, so I'd better put the pedal to the metal and get started with it. Ugh. I feel really torn between letting myself work a little this Christmas and concentrating as much as possible on these essay drafts, but I fear that I'll just have to let work take a back seat this Christmas. I must admit I do feel guilty for doing so, but considering the fact that I don't have that much time to write my drafts, I don't think there's much for me to do about it.

Ugh (#2). I feel I'm letting people down by doing this, but ultimately uni has a higher priority than work. Still... The guilt factor is sky high.

This sucks. SUCKS, I tell you. SUCKS.

Meanwhile, besides this semi-killjoy attitude of uni with respect to essay writing (bah, humbug), I'm slowly but surely getting into the Christmas mood. At the soccer stadium they've started decorating the adjacent shopping street (it's really not that long/extravagant) with lights and tiny plastic Christmas trees. Purdy. Real purdy. They've also started decorating on campus, albeit just a little. This week there was this huge crane at the southern end of campus, ready to set up Christmas lights in the trees. You should really see those trees when it's dark outside (or after dark). Nothing short of beautiful!

Bought myself a bag of Christmas marzipan today as well. Lord knows marzipan is one of the best things ever created. I didn't really like it when I was a kid, but it's sorta' grown on me over the years. Just like licorice, mustard, brown cheese and raw/unprocessed tomatoes. (I adored spaghetti sauce with tomatoes and ketchup when I was a kid, but ironically enough I couldn't stand raw tomatoes. In case you didn't know, I was weird back then. Heck, I'm still weird in many ways!)

So what's missing now to make the picture complete is SNOW. That and reading by a lit fireplace snuggled inside a blanket in your jammies and favorite slippers sipping gløgg (approx. the same as mulled wine) while huge cotton-like wads of snow quietly fall to the ground. With the sweet and spicy smell of gløgg gradually filling the air and the sporadic crackling from the fireplace in reach. Oh yeah. Bliss. ("Chestnuts roasting on an open fire...")

*snaps out of trance* Hokai. Enough for now. I'd better hit the sack and get my beauty sleep. Going to church with dark bags underneath your eyes isn't exactly ideal. Besides, Sir Play-It-Loud seems to have surrendered to the increasing levels of serotonin in his body. Finally. I should do the same.

'Till next time!



Signing off (zzz...),
Elise

Exam theme song? Whatthe... huh?

Long time, no blog. Let's just say I've been really quite busy these past few weeks. I started with my exam reviewing in the beginning of this month and feel rather good about that, as my first exams will be on Dec. 4. Uy. So, where's my confidence at? My reply in this case would be "no comment". A great big part of me just wants to get this over and done with.

Meanwhile, a small tradition of my unconsciousness has been to find a theme song for the days before and during the exams. Yes, it's a rather peculiar tradition of mine, which I really wasn't aware of until a few days ago, as so far I tend to get a song stuck in my head for no apparent reason throughout this time. It just pops up in a few weeks before exams. And it doesn't necessarily have anything to do with them or have anything related to overcoming an obstacle. My first semester here in Oslo I had a S&G song in my head, "Feelin' Groovy". Now this one has at least a connection with destressing, at the very least. Then there was... what was the song for my second semester, again? I kinda appear to have forgotten. I think it was a tie between A-Ha's "You are the One", Bananarama's "Nathan Jones" and Ylvis's "Reven på hønsejakt" or something. Now, I don't remember much of my 3rd or 4th semesters, but according to my YouTube list, I must have listened to Billy Joel's "River of Dreams" or something of the likes in my 3rd semester and Elvis and Céline Dion's "If I Can Dream" (still love it!), George Harrison's "Here Comes the Sun" (do-do-do-do) and a Josh Groban drum solo in my 4th. What's strange, however, is that I still haven't managed to find my song(s) for this semester. Wuzzupwiddat?

So far I've been going all Ralph Wiggum and John Lennon ("Ah-no-le-reeshee-gad-blee-bloochigoo", cf. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eONdc_qR3Mg; and the song in this clip didn't really appeal to me either). So yeah, I'm still searching for that one song. Or those songs.

Well, there's always Rob Thomas's "Little Wonders"... Or maybe not. But then there's Switchfoot's "Dare You to Move", which is also a very nice one... Maybe so. Josh Groban's "Caruso" or "Hymne a l'amour"? Europe's "The Final Countdown" (*whimper*)? Queen's "The Show Must Go On" (õ.O)? Kate Bush's "Wuthering Heights"? Kate Bush and Peter Gabriel's "Don't Give Up"? Yeah, I listened to that last one earlier today whilst doing yoga and I think that would be a potential candidate. Or maybe the Thrills' "Big Sur"? Potential choice as well. It'll come to me in due time, I reckon.

The Thrills' "Big Sur":


Kate Bush & Peter Gabriel's "Don't Give Up":


Not that this is the thing which should worry me the most. Of course.

Right. Off to Bedfordshire. Big day tomorrow.



Signing off,
Elise

A very enlightening conversation of nothing of consequence, i.e. "Much Ado About Nothing".

An SMS conversation between me and a friend of mine (and these are actual unrevised quotes):

Me:

My dear Ms. J.,

I write to inquire about our encounter on this very day. As I am aware that your prior engagements may be tentative, I would be very much content with a short account of your whereabouts for the day. Furthermore, as I myself have somewhat imperative matters to deal with (including extensive reading), I also wish to inquire if it may be possible to shorten our meeting slightly.

Yours respectfully,
Ms. Elise of West Frontier Hall

J.:
When should I present myself to her ladyship? Will around six be a good time to call?

Ms. C. of See-Around Cottage

(followed by...)

It is now my intention to do some slight exercise for 30 or 20 minutes slightly past 4 o'clock this afternoon. After which I will engage in stretching for an extended period of time. If God be willing, I will arrive at your stately mansion at around 6 this afternoon, or if it suits your ladyship, I will postpone my engagements an hour, and arrive upon your doorstep at the good hour of 7 this evening.

Yours truly etc.
Ms. J. of See-Around Cottage

Me:

My dear Ms. C.,

After having had time to ponder upon the time in which I will yet again have the pleasure of enjoying your amiable company, I believe it will suffice to place our encounter upon the sixth hour if, God willing, your time of exercise will not prove to be a vexatious conflict to it. If so, please permit me to offer an olive branch by adding that you may arrive at my humble hall at any time in concordance with your schedule of events between the aforementioned hour (the sixth hour) and the subsequent (the seventh hour). I look exceedingly forward to the encounter, my dear friend!

Yours etc.,
Ms. Elise of West Frontier Hall



This is some of the most beautiful nonsense in which I've been able to partake. Stay tuned. There may be more.


Signing off (while undergoing a giggling fit),
Elise

The Muppets go classic and Spanish nonsensical blabber.

The most heart-wrenching rendition of "La Habanera" I've ever come across.



Heart-wrenchingly funny, that is!!! XD *points and laughs Nelson style ("the Simpsons")*

As is this:



And this one is just pure genius! Bet the cast had a blast when recording this!



Who needs Helmut Lotti when we've got PPP (Pitch-Perfect Poultry)?

Beautiful. If I do say so myself.

(Bork, bork, bork, even.)

Uy, hay alguien que está al lado de mi habitación y está tocando su tambor... :-S Pues, ¡mejor que la música techno del año pasado cuando quería dormirme por la noche, por mi parte! (Tengo que deciros que no había esa música tantas veces, tampoco ahora, pero cuando podía oírla...)

Anyway, I won't complain about this. There are so many other things that are more worthy of complaint than just this simple dude hitting his drum. Besides, he stopped already, so there we go. His hand probably hurt from all that vigorous hitting. Which reminds me, I'm going to see if I can find any patterns to embroider this weekend. I suddenly felt the urge of embroidering... Bordear... Or perhaps start up knitting again. Perhaps advance to something more than just a mere scarf... I dunno. We'll see what will become of this idea.

Signing off (bork, bork, bork),
Elise